Niacin's "bad side-effects," which are harmless and usually fade for most users after a month or so of usage, can frighten the uninformed user who has not be told what to expect.

Substituting a synthetic HDL for niacin is a losing proposition. A good place to learn all about niacin therapy is at the website www.cholesterolscore.com .

It seems that therapeutic doses of niacin, which have been used & studied since the 1950's, have done much more than what statin drugs like Crestor promise. From lowering LDL to improving C-reactive protein levels, to lowering triglycerides, to enlarging lipid particle size, to increasing longevity, no other medication has been found to be as effective as niacin. Niacin, though, is less expensive than aspirin.